The Wandering Alchemist
by sharia013
Summary: On their journey to locate a set of parents and a home, two teens cross the paths of the traveling Elric brothers and, finding the boys useful, decide to tag along. However, they find themselves pulled into a conspiracy far beyond anything they could have ever imagined. [Ed/OC later on]
1. Dawn

**_Hey guys, sharia013 here with my new FMA story! This is a revamp of my previous story, The Lost Ones, and so far I'm really looking forward to this fic! Oh, it also follows the manga story line, but will have bits and pieces of Brotherhood here and there. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I like writing it out :D_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Fullmetal Alchemist. Those belong to the honorable Hiromi Arakawa. I'm also not making a profit off of this in any way._**

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><p><em>Fire. That was the first thing she noticed when the darkness faded. Flames spewed from the windows, licking the windowsills and walls of the two story house, devouring it in order to feed its never ending hunger. Orange hues flickered, casting dancing shadows yet illuminating her home in a blazing glory, with smoke pouring from every opening and blackening the night sky. <em>

_She was so close she felt her body burn from the scorching heat, the thick smog making her cough violently and her eyes water. The scene before her was transfixing, yet what disturbed her most was the silence besides the roaring and crackling of the decaying house._

_She knew someone was inside. Why were there no screams of pain and agony, no shrieking cries of help? She tried to sprint forward in hopes of rescuing the resident, but she jolted back as someone gripped her arms and pulled her away._

"Let me go! My aunt's still in there!" _she heard a weak and raw voice shout as she fought against the grip. It clung to her, refusing to break away, but after her consistent struggles, it relished its hold on her, suddenly vanishing as if it was never there. With no hesitation, she dashed towards the open entrance of the house, plunging into the flames._

_A smoldering heat hit her body in an instant and the inferno surrounded her from all sides. As she crossed over the threshold, it was as if someone flipped a switch. The crackles of the flames and the groaning of the house became muted, leaving her in a strange limbo of silent instability. She felt her pace slow to a walk beyond her control, yet she felt on edge as her eyes darted around, scanning through each passing, perishing room._

_The last room she entered was void of any furnishings or windows, completely empty. As she stepped in, the flames in front of her parted and three silhouettes emerged from them. The forms on the left and right were merely shadows, their figures blurring in and out of vision as their bodies flickered like static. The third was strikingly recognizable._

_Ice blue eyes under parted black bangs stared vacantly at her, fists clenched and body rigid. As she locked gazes, the sound of a heartbeat faded in, gradually pounding in her head, mixing in with labored breaths._

"A-Auntie…" _the raw voice returned, whimpering and barely above a whisper. _

_Wind howled from behind the figure, sending blistering fumes at her face and smoldering the fire instantaneously. A bright light immediately followed the gusts, sending the shadows and the room drifting away like smoke, leaving her and the recognizable figure in a white expanse of pure emptiness. For a few moments, everything was silent and she felt frozen in place, barely aware of the change of her surroundings. Then, with a trembling hand, she reached out and tried to step closer._

_As her foot lifted and met the ground in a single step, the figure's form began to scatter like ashes, pieces falling to the floor yet dissolving before they touched the ground. In its place was a white being surrounded by thousands of tiny black particles, a shadowy sneer spread across its blank face._

"_**It's all about equivalent exchange, isn't it?"**_

_Her legs gave out unexpectedly and she toppled to the ground, her body slamming into cold concrete. She stiffened, feeling a shiver creep through her as she heard a sickening groan and a slippery squelch. _

Aunt Lauren?

_She braced herself and pushed against the floor, expecting to stand. Instead, she stumbled and dropped back down with a cry of surprise and pain, and she realized with a start that she could no longer feel her lower legs. Looking down through the darkness, she could see a mixture of blood and blackened ash coating her hands, and she felt the world around her come to a standstill._

No…

_A low, guttural moan came from above and, horrified, she slowly looked up._

_A twisted, mangled, and living corpse met her eyes, its chest and stomach torn from the inside out and its skin clinging to its skeleton, bones jutting out at sharp angles from inside it. While it was lying on its back, its head and hands were snapped right-side up, its eyeballs rolled in the back of its skull and its jaw stretched open, heaving deep and irregular gasps as its uneven fingers twitched and reached out for her._

_Somewhere, she could hear screaming, shrill and high, breaking the suffocating silence. She wanted to cover her ears and avert her gaze, yet her body remained frozen and she could only stare at the monstrosity in front of her. She opened her mouth to call out, to gasp, to whimper, to make a sound, yet her lips were already parted._

_She realized the screams were coming from her._

Gasps slipped from her lips as Sabrina snapped her eyes open, her body tensing up in panic and fear. The scream died in her ears and she laid still, her body shaking with ragged breaths as she took several moments for the remnants of the nightmare to completely fade away. Reality hit her slowly, and the girl found herself lying on her bed, a warm quilt covering her as she stared at the ceiling of her room, illuminated by a dim light trickling in through her window.

_Just a dream… _Sabrina realized she was tightly clutching her bed sheets and she loosened her grip, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths as her body relaxed and her mind cleared up. Images of the nightmare flashed behind closed eyelids and she forced them away, opening her eyes and blinking away tears she didn't realize were forming. Slowly pushing herself to a sitting position with a low moan, she leaned forward and rubbed her face, brushing away salty streaks and regaining focus.

Sabrina pulled her hands away once she was sure the waterworks had shut off and ran her fingers through her hair, allowing her crimson colored bangs to fall over her eyes. _I need a trim, _she thought humorously as she looked down at her lap.

She shifted slightly as she heard a small creak from her leg and a stiffness feeling came to her in both of her legs. She sat upright and huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face as she pushed her quilt away and pulled her knees up to her chest, pulling her pajama legs up and searching for any problems.

Titanium gleamed in the light as Sabrina ran her fingers along the smooth metal, feeling every bump and edge on the surface of her automail limbs. She moved her hands from the ports that connected her fleshy upper legs to her mechanical lower ones, to her metallic feet and toes, rotating her ankles and bending her joints to make sure everything was in order. Despite her rehabilitation recently finishing, the teen's ports felt sore and she figured the reason behind it.

"Damn automail," Sabrina mumbled to herself, lightly smacking her knees. "It was just a stupid dream. No need to get so uptight over it."

The girl swung her legs around and sat at the edge of her bed, stretching herself out and yawning before letting her arms fall back to her sides. She glanced out her bedside window, noticing the sky lightening to orange and red hues as the sun started to peak out from behind the cliffs and canyons in the distance.

"Aw man… It's so early," Sabrina moaned. "I was hoping to sleep in for once. Stupid nightmare…" She sighed exasperatedly then turned her attention to the cot across from hers. To her surprise, it was empty, with the bed made as if no one had slept there.

Sabrina clicked her tongue and shook her head, smiling to herself. "He's inhuman if he can stand getting up this early every day," she remarked. She pushed herself up, testing her weight on her automail and wincing slightly as they gave out weak creaks of protest before settling.

"Gotta get Gabe to check on those," she reminded herself as she took a few hesitant steps before heading out of the room.

The early morning sunlight filtered in through the curtains at the end of the corridor as Sabrina dragged herself down the hall, raising a hand to her mouth as she let out a loud yawn. "Need coffeeeeeee…" she groaned, sluggishly passing through the living room to enter the small kitchen.

For once, the cramped area had been cleaned up the previous night, leaving Sabrina to easily find the equipment and items necessary to make coffee and breakfast for three people. Her mind slowly kicked into gear as she made preparations, thinking of how much eggs and bacon should be made, how the eggs should be cooked, who liked sugar and cream in their coffee and who liked theirs straight-up dark-

An impatient cough sounded from behind Sabrina, abruptly snapping the girl out of her concentration as she whirled around to face the interruption. A teenage boy sat at a small table behind her, leaning back in his chair as he lowered his hand from his mouth. Steel blue eyes shone behind dark brown bangs as a neutral expression spread across his face. Despite the early hours, he was fully dressed in a gray long-sleeved shirt with black trousers, white socks, and white gloves on his hands, a sapphire ring slipped onto the ring finger of his right hand.

Sabrina blinked, unable to contain a sheepish grin as she realized she had walked past the boy without noticing him. "Heya Jamie. Didn't see you there," she greeted.

"Clearly," Jamie pushed back the sleeve on his left arm then gazed down at his wrist, checking an imaginary watch. "It's about time you got up. I was starting to think that breakfast would be skipped."

Sabrina rolled her eyes, resuming her task of making breakfast. "You know, if you were really starving, you could've just made your own breakfast," she pointed out.

"Nope," Jamie fixed his sleeve and shook his head. "I made breakfast yesterday. It's your turn."

"You didn't even want to help me out?"

"Not really."

"Well, aren't you considerate."

"I know right?"

Sabrina shot the boy an annoyed glare, but an amused smirk played at her lips, which Jamie returned. They turned away from each other and the two fell into a companionable silence, only interrupted by the water in the kettle boiling and the sizzle of the pan as Sabrina placed bacon strips into it. For a few minutes, the girl found herself immersed in the process of cooking; getting lost in the scents of warm meat and eggs over the heat of the stove, along with the aroma of freshly ground coffee powder as she mixed it into the kettle. It wasn't until the bacon was perfectly crisp and the eggs sunny-side up that she found the lack of conversation overwhelming, and she spoke as she plated the food.

"So, how'd you sleep last night?"

In normal situations, the question would've sound awkward, if not somewhat creepy, but Sabrina had known Jamie long enough that she figured he had gotten used to her weird topics. However, she received a lack of response, and when she glanced over at her friend, he merely met her gaze and shrugged.

"Meh," he simply replied. "You?"

While Jamie was used to Sabrina's conversations, she was equally comfortable with his lack thereof. She took it as another way of saying, "Fine" and continued on.

"Wish I could say the same," she admitted, setting a plate of food and a cup of coffee in front of her friend. "I had a bit of a rough night's sleep last night."

"So I figured," Jamie said, picking up his fork and setting to work on his food. "I heard you tossing and turning in your bed."

Sabrina paused in pouring her own cup of coffee and gently set the cup down, looking over at Jamie with an apologetic gaze. "Sorry. Did I wake you?" she asked.

"No, don't worry, It was happening more when I got up," Jamie replied, pausing to munch on his eggs.

Sabrina nodded then took the seat across from him, food and drink in hand, and the room fell into silence once more, albeit tenser than before. The two focused on their food as best as they could, but it didn't take long before Sabrina couldn't take any more of the heavy stillness.

"…I dreamt about Auntie," she muttered, turning her gaze to her half empty plate.

The girl continued to hear Jamie's fork scraping against his plate, but she could feel his eyes boring into her skull. When he said nothing, she continued, "There was the fire… and I saw her in the house. But there were two other people with her. I didn't recognize them."

Her eyes drifted to her lap, where she realized her left hand was gripping the fabric of her pajama pants tightly, the knuckles turning white.

"And… There was the…-"

A tanned hand slammed down on the table between the two teens, making them start and lean back in their seats. Sabrina's gaze darted to the owner of the hand, her startled expression switching to annoyance as she glared at the man before her. "Morning to you too, Gabe," she said, monotone.

Said man stood above them, grinning and showing off a mouth with several teeth of gold and silver. The aging man had tan skin and a wiry build, with faded and stretched tribal tattoos covering his bare arms. Dark biker shades and a gray bandana covered his eyes and head, yet wisps of silvery white hair fell over his wrinkled forehead and a short ponytail stuck out from the back. Despite his clean apparel of a t-shirt with a leather vest, khaki shorts, and sandals, he reeked of oil and smoke, the scent going strong even after two years.

"What's all this crap talk?" Gabe asked, leaning over the table and staring the teens down. "Whatcha worrying about nightmares for? They ain't real! Best to forget about 'em and move on, if you ask me."

Sabrina opened her mouth to make a snide remark, but the elderly man averted his attention to her half empty plate of food and coffee. "Dammit, you kids started without me?" he complained. "What happened to waitin' for your elders?"

"Should've gotten up earlier, gramps," Sabrina bluntly retorted, taking a long and obnoxious sip of her coffee and making Gabe scowl in annoyance. "Mmmmm, nice and warm."

Jamie coughed to cover up a snicker and added before the old man could blow a gasket, "Sab made a plate and cup for you. They should still be warm."

Gabe snorted. "Least someone in this damn house has manners," he spat.

As he turned away, Sabrina met the geezer's gaze and gave him a mischievous grin. Gabe furrowed his brow, but the girl noticed the corner of his lips twitch into a smirk, sending the signal that no harm was done before they looked away.

As the old man picked up his meal and joined the teens at the table, he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter, flicking the box open and pulling out a cigarette with his teeth. "Nothin' like a good smoke with a good meal," he muttered humbly, raising his lighter to his lips.

Suddenly, the cigarette was ripped from his mouth and Jamie clenched it in his fist, crumpling it up then throwing the remains into an open trash can. "The hell?!" Gabe exclaimed in anger. "What gives?"

"Bad Gabriel!" Sabrina scolded, wagging her finger at the old man. "No smoking at meals, remember? You shouldn't even be smoking those cancer sticks in the first place."

Gabe scoffed but slid the box and lighter back into his pocket. "I don't have many years left to live anyhow," he muttered. "And us elders should be the one orderin' you kids around, not the other way."

"Oh, hush up and eat your meal," Sabrina replied, going back to her food.

Gabe continued to murmur complaints under his breath, but they eventually faded away as he dug into his food. The group began to lapse into idle chit-chat, with Gabe and Sabrina doing most of the conversing and Jamie adding in his bits when directly spoken to. The tension of the nightmare was slowly forgotten and it wasn't until all the plates were clear of food and the cups completely drained did Sabrina remember her aching joints.

"Oh, Gabe," she perked up. "My ports have been pretty sore since this morning. Think you could take a look?"

"Sore, eh?" Gabe frowned but got up and went over to Sabrina, kneeling down to get a better look. Sabrina pulled up her pants legs, fully revealing her automail for the old man to examine. The latter chewed his lip thoughtfully as he scrutinized his craft, often tapping at the metal and having Sabrina bend her legs a few times.

"Seems fine to me," Gabe concluded. "Might wanna test it out back if you're still unsure."

"Alright," Sabrina nodded then looked over at Jamie, who was cleaning up the table and preparing to do the dishes. "Whaddya say, old boy? Fancy an early morning spar?"

The girl expected an almost immediate response, but, much to her surprise, Jamie seemed to hesitate. He paused then looked down into the sink, gripping the edge with both hands. "Well…" he muttered, appearing troubled.

"You should probably test yours out too, kid," Gabe broke in. "I know you take good care of that arm of yours, but it's good for you two to get out of my house and hair. And don't worry about the dishes, for Pete's sake!" he loudly added as Jamie opened his mouth to retort. "I'll take care of it for you, but you better make a hell of a good lunch, ya hear?"

Jamie gritted his teeth, appearing disgruntled, but he relaxed after a few moments and sighed in defeat, meeting his gaze with Sabrina's. "…Alright," he gave in. "Just be ready for an ass beating."

Sabrina shot him a cocky grin and stood. "We'll just see about that!"

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><p><em><strong>And that was the first chapter! So, what did you guys think? I know it's pretty slow to begin with but the plot will start to pick up in the next few chapters. Until then, please leave a review in the box below! I wanna know what you guys think, because believe me, it really helps a girl out.<strong>_

_**Until next update my friends, sharia013 signing off~**_


	2. Sparring in the Morning

**A/N: Before we get this chapter rolling, I just want to apologize about how late this chapter came out. I was originally gonna post it either yesterday or the day before, maintaining a two week update schedule for this story, but school ended up kicking my butt and I typed this up pretty late. I'll explain more at the end.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Fullmetal Alchemist. Those belong to their original creator, Hirom_u _Arakawa.**

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><p>The sun was shining above the canyons in a brightening blue sky as Sabrina rushed out the back of Gabriel's Automail Market and towards the sandlot a few yards away. An embedded circle in the sand with a wide radius served as the perfect spot for a sparring match, with a view of the rising mountains and canyons of Rush Valley in the background. Despite the early hours, the heat was already starting to pick up, which was why Sabrina had wisely chosen to change into a white tank-top with black shorts to show off her automail, which shone a metallic white in the sunlight. However, she kept her feet bare, as she wanted to test the full extent of her mechanics. Besides, she couldn't feel burned from the warm sand beneath her feet, as not only was the titanium heat resistant, but she could barely feel anything beyond her lower limbs as it was.<p>

Sabrina stepped into the circle and took her place, posing in a strong stance and placing her hands on her hips, waiting impatiently for her friend to join her. A minute of stillness passed, with Sabrina shifting from side to side as she ran fighting tactics through her head, until Jamie finally stepped out and walked towards her. Much to her dismay, the boy remained in his long-sleeved shirt and pants, along with a pair of black combat boots to add on.

"Really? You planning on passing out from heatstroke halfway through or something?" Sabrina asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

Jamie shrugged as he entered the ring and remained silent, taking up a battle stance across from Sabrina and giving her a hard stare. The girl paused, waiting for a response, before cracking a smirk and following suit. "Whatever. Gives me an advantage I suppose," she said.

A humid breeze blew in from the cliffs, scattering sand and sending up plumes of dust as tension fell between the two. Slowly, the teens began to circle around the inside of the ring, keeping their distance from each other equal as they kept their gazes locked on to the others. Sabrina concentrated, keeping her weight even as she slid across the sand.

_An opponent with less patience will be at a disadvantage, _she mentally reminded herself. _If I can just keep up my patience and let Jamie attack first, I'll be able to plan his attacks and strategize as I go._

It was a tough gamble, as Sabrina knew her friend tended to have a greater amount of patience than she could ever gain in a lifetime. This flaw was proven against her, for as time passed and Sabrina was sure she had treaded around the circle three times, she began to feel irritated at Jamie's consistent poker face, and she felt urges to rush forward and kick that annoying face of his in. However, she knew that would place her on the losing side immediately, and so she took deep and steady breaths, forcing herself to calm down as she focused on relaxing the tension in her body, feeling through every muscle as she-

_Oh screw it._

With a battle cry, Sabrina charged forward, raising a hand to aim a chop at Jamie's shoulder. As she approached, Jamie quickly slid away from Sabrina's blow, counteracting almost immediately with an attempted punch. Sabrina leaped back to avoid it, but her opponent swung again, barely missing her chest as she reared back in surprise. She narrowed her eyes, regaining her focus just in time, as Jamie continued his onslaught of swipes and thrusts, with Sabrina barely able to avoid each attack.

_This isn't like Jamie at all, _the girl realized, gritting her teeth from the constant effort. _Usually his strikes are thought-out and calculated, but now it's like he's just rushing to get this fight over with-_

A sudden swing from the left grazed Sabrina's cheek, wrenching her back to reality as she stumbled back and lost her concentration. She blinked, her guard faltering for a mere moment, then going rigid as she saw Jamie's right hand curled into a fist, heading straight for her face.

_I don't have enough time to move out of the way!_

Instinct kicked in and Sabrina braced herself, digging her feet into the ground and raising her left hand in preparation to catch his. The boy's fist collided with her palm and a loud _SMACK _echoed through the canyons, the force strong enough to send Sabrina skidding back a few inches, leaving drag marks in the sand. For a few moments, the two were locked in a standstill, blazing olive green eyes locked with cold steel blues in a mixture of tension, determination, and impatience in the boy's case. Then, as one, they leaped away from each other, once again taking their places at the edges of the ring and reverting to their starting points.

Sabrina winced and held back a grunt of pain as she glanced down at her battered hand. She realized that both her hand and her wrist had gone numb, as she saw her fingers twitch uncontrollably, and she noticed a deep imprint with a dark bruise around it from Jamie's ring. She grimaced and flexed her fingers, regaining feeling with jolts of pain as she turned back to her opponent, who looked unfazed and appeared to be waiting for her to strike first again.

_Fine by me, _Sabrina decided, curling her fingers into tight fists. _I'm done playing around. If you want this fight over quick, I'll end it for you right here!_

With no warning, Sabrina shot forward, focusing on pumping her legs and keeping her gazed locked on her target. She saw Jamie shift his stance, pushing one foot forward and crouching down, making the girl hold back a grin.

_Just as I thought!_

Sabrina pushed herself harder, rapidly closing the distance between her and Jamie. At the last second, right as Jamie began to pull back his arm, she switched course and suddenly leaped to the side. At the same time, the boy lunged forward, his fist careening and hitting the air where Sabrina's abdomen had once been. She saw his body visibly tense as he seemed to realize that not only had he missed his target, but his back was wide open, making the girl's eyes gleam.

_Gotcha! _Sabrina grinned triumphantly as she raised her hands to bring them together, preparing to make the finishing blow. However, as she became so focused on winning the battle, she lost all attention to her footing, and so she didn't realize her metallic foot hitting the sand at a wrong angle and slipping until she felt her entire body uncontrollably pivot to the side. With a cry of alarm, she flailed her arms humorously and stumbled, taking a few clumsy steps back before regaining her balance. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she felt pleased that she hadn't fallen over.

That is, until she realized Jamie had whirled around and was flying straight at her. Before she could react, the boy slapped his right hand to her face, catching her nose between his thumb and index finger. With a sharp push, Sabrina's head was forcibly snapped back, and she gave out a muffled shout as she felt Jamie forcing her body to fall back with her head.

A cloud of dust and sand billowed around the girl as she was flung onto her back, hitting the ground hard and making her eyes squeeze shut to keep from gasping out. She lay still, panting heavily as she felt Jamie slowly lift his hand away from her face, defeat weighing her down. She blinked open her eyes as a shadow fell over her and the victor gazed down, his expression set in a hard stare as he stood rigid and tall, silhouetted by the sun's beaming rays of light shining down onto his back.

"I win."

Sabrina scowled, rubbing a finger under her nose to feel for any pains from Jamie's facepalm. "No fair. You used a submissive move," she half-whined.

Jamie snorted and slumped down next to her, crossing his legs and rubbing his right wrist. "You were about to use alchemy, weren't you?" he pointed out. "You can't complain about me cheating if you try to do it yourself."

"Hmph," Sabrina grunted then pushed herself to a sitting position, patting the sand off of her back. "In a real-time fight like that, I would be dead if I didn't use my skills to my full extent."

"Still, that wasn't a real fight, so you cheated," Jamie countered.

"Oh hush," Sabrina stretched out her legs and looked them over, flexing her metallic toes and rotating her ankles. "Least my automail didn't hurt at all during the spar," she noted out loud, quickly changing the subject. "Some joints still feel a bit stiff though, so I'll have to oil those down. Right after I wash the grime off." She made a face as she ran her thumb down her leg, leaving a streak of metallic white through the dust and a speck of dirt on the tip of her thumb.

A momentary silence fell between the two before Sabrina pushed herself to her feet, patting the sand off once more and turning to face her friend. "So now that that's out of the way, what's your plan for today?" she asked. "I was thinking of helping out Gabe at the shop after a quick shower."

There was no reply for a long time and the silence lasted on. Sabrina noticed her friend had turned away from her and was avoiding her gaze, his face hidden by his bangs. She could feel a sort of tension emanating from his body, judging by how his shoulders seemed to have stiffened up, and she chewed her bottom lip, anxiously waiting for a response. When there was none, she cautiously spoke up.

"Jamie…" Sabrina hesitated. "There's something on your mind, isn't there? You've been acting weird all morning. Is there… something you want to tell me?"

Again, no response. Sabrina paused for a few moments before nervously going on, unsure if she was treading into private affairs. "Y'know bro… You can tell me what's going on. I'm here for-"

"I want to go to Meridius."

Sabrina stopped short. Jamie had said his words so sudden and quick that she barely heard a word he said. "Er… come again?" she asked.

Sabrina barely noticed Jamie's hand clenching into a fist. "…I want to go to Meridius," he slowly repeated, his voice low. "I want to see my hometown again."

Sabrina paused, biting her lip again as the request settled in. _That's right… He's wanted to go back to his birthplace for a while now, _she thought. _I'm not sure it's the right time though._

"I know it's been a long time since you were there," Sabrina spoke up after a tense silence, choosing her words carefully. "But Meridius is towards the West. Its closer to Central, but it's still pretty far away. Besides, we just got done with our automail rehabilitation process not even a week ago and even then we're ending it a year early. Maybe if we just wait a bit-"

"You don't understand!" Sabrina jolted as Jamie snapped. His tone was harsh, but it calmed down considerably when he spoke again. "I can't wait any longer. It's been twelve years since I've even stepped near it. I was hoping to at least see what it was like a few years ago, but that was set back…"

He drifted off, but Sabrina silently finished what he couldn't say.

_That was set back because of me._

"That town was supposed to be inherited to me," Jamie continued, his voice barely wavering. "I deserve to know if anything's changed. I deserve to know if the people I remember are still there. I deserve to know what became of my family's home."

Jamie ended abruptly and Sabrina considered if the stoic boy she always knew was close to tears. It pained her to see her close friend in such an unusual state, and she noticed the conviction as he spoke. There was nothing that could change his mind. He was past the turning point.

"When do you plan on leaving?" she softly asked.

There was a pause before Jamie mumbled, "Tomorrow morning. With or without you."

The words stung a bit. Sabrina always knew that Jamie could be more independent than her, but she had almost forgotten how cold he could get with his introverted attitude. She figured he was merely being determined and stubborn, and whether that was true or not, she knew she had no other options to choose from but one.

"Fine then," Sabrina shortly replied, turning and facing away from Jamie. "You better go inform Gabe of our change of plans. Just a warning, but he won't be happy with our limited amount of time."

With that, Sabrina stepped out of the battle ring and headed towards the shop, forcing herself not to look back to see if Jamie was getting up and following. As she approached the back door, she paused, her fingers lingering on the doorknob, and looked down. Despite the fast and rough sparring session, her feet still shone a metallic white in the sunshine, emphasizing her disability.

_It's my fault the two of us are even here in the first place._

Insecurities plagued her mind and Sabrina clenched her teeth, attempting to will the strong thoughts away.

_In fact, if it weren't for me, I would still have both of my legs and Jamie would have his arm. He'd be at his home by now while I would be searching for my parents. Maybe I would have found them by now. And Auntie wouldn't have-_

A brush against her shoulder pulled her out of her thoughts and Sabrina blinked in surprise, looking up to see Jamie leaning past her to pull open the door.

"Before Gabe hears the news, I'm going to get myself cleaned up," he said. "Move over, you're blocking the way in."

Sabrina blinked a few times in confusion, lightly stepping away to allow Jamie to walk past her before she made sense of his words. "Wait a minute! I called the shower first!" she called to his back.

"Victor wins the spoils," Jamie replied over his shoulder.

"That's cheap!"

"That's real life for you."

"C'MON!"

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><p><strong>AN: And there's the second chapter! Yes, this one was a bit shorter than the first, but I promise the next will have more content. We also get some conflict between Sabrina and Jamie and a hint of their backstories. Pretty exciting~ w**

**But like I was saying earlier, schools been on my tail as of late. It's a reason why I might go on a little haitus from Fanfiction for a bit, even though we've barely scratched the surface of this story. Sorry guys, but college's been preparing me for upcoming finals, and with rehearsals for a play coming up, I'll barely have any free time until December. I'll try to make the next chapter worth the wait, especially since Ed and Al will be introduced. WEWT**


	3. Making Preparations

**Disclaimer: The following is a nonproft fanfiction. Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to its creator, Himoru Arakawa. Please support the official release.**

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><p>"You boys can go ahead. The colonel's been expecting you."<p>

At Lieutenant Hawkeye's invite, Edward gave a heavy sigh and pushed himself out of his seat. He definitely wasn't looking forward to seeing Colonel Hothead again, especially since his last mission led to a dead end.

"C'mon Al. The sooner we get this over with, the better," Ed said, glancing over at his little brother.

A giant suit of armor looked up at the young alchemist, a pair of glowing red orbs shining through the eyeholes in his helmet and lock with piercing golden eyes. With a nod, Alphonse stood to his full height of seven feet, his armored parts clicking against each other with his movements. "You don't have to sound so eager, Brother," Al chuckled humorously.

"Yeah, yeah." Ed rolled his eyes before picking up his traveling trunk and the Elric brothers headed into Colonel Mustang's office.

As his brother closed the door behind them, Ed couldn't help but glance over the familiar interior. As usual, the office was sparse, save for the seating arrangements of two couches, a few bookshelves and tables, and a large desk covered with paperwork and files that Colonel Bastard himself was seated at. Said superior officer looked up from his work as he heard the brothers enter the room, dark eyes glinting in recognition behind matching short hair.

"Nice to see you again boys," Mustang greeted. He met gazes with Ed and the boy scowled as a teasing smirk spread across the officer's face. "My ,my Edward. It's been several days since I've last seen you and you still haven't grown a centimeter taller. In fact, it looks to me like you've actually shrunk."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE HAS TO WEAR STILTS TO SEE OVER A TABLE?!" Ed suddenly snapped, attempting to lunge at Mustang before being held back by a surprised Al.

"He didn't say anything like that Brother! Please calm down!" Al stammered over his brother's roars before turning to Mustang. "I'm sorry for my brother's behavior Colonel."

Mustang's smirk only widened at his subordinate's childish tantrum as he nonchalantly shrugged. "It's all right, Alphonse," he replied. "Perhaps all that pent-up rage is what's keeping him from growing past five feet."

The colonel's statement only riled up Ed even further and it took him a few minutes to calm down and cease spitting out vulgar insults at his superior officer.

"So then," Mustang began, his tone growing serious as the atmosphere settled down and Ed and Al took their seats. "I'm assuming that since you didn't parade into my office, there was no sign of the Philosopher's Stone."

"Yep. The last few missions were just wild goose chases," Ed sighed dejectedly before giving Mustang an annoyed glance. "Guess your resources aren't very reliable, huh Colonel?"

Mustang regarded Ed coolly before averting his attention and beginning to search through his stack of paperwork. "Keep in mind that these reports are mainly based on rumors that spread across the country, Fullmetal," he calmly replied. "However, a lead did pop up while you boys were traveling."

"Really?" Ed and Al immediately perked up, leaning forward in their seats eagerly. While most of their findings had been frauds and duds, a new report was always better than nothing for the optimistic brothers. "What is it?"

The colonel pulled out a single case file from the stack and flipped it open, glancing over the papers inside. "There have been suspicions of corrupt military activity in a military –based town in the West," Mustang explained. "Businesses near that area have been shutting down at unexpected rates over the past twelve years ever since the current owner of the town, Colonel Kent, took over and made it his base of operations as well as a military camp for trainees."

Ed frowned at the sudden change of subject. "So what does that have to do with the Philosopher's Stone?" he impatiently asked.

Mustang raised his eyes and his infamous smirk made an encore. "Not one to beat around the bush, are you Edward?" he teased. "Coincidentally, the previous owners of the town collected a wide variety of books in their mansion's extensive library. It's been said they even had several sacred texts involving alchemy. Of what specifically and whether they're still there, I'm not sure."

"Sacred alchemical texts…" Ed repeated thoughtfully before turning to grin at his brother. "Sounds like something we should look into, right Al?"

"Yeah," Al nodded, his tone cheerful. "Maybe they'll have a clue about getting our bodies back too."

"Now hold on a minute, boys," Mustang interrupted. "I need something out of this bargain as well."

Ed's hopeful attitude plummeted into a sour disposition as he stared at his superior. "I should've figured there was gonna be a catch, especially with you," he muttered in annoyance.

Mustang playfully shrugged before closing the open file with a snap. "Like I mentioned before, Colonel Kent's been a suspect of foul play for a while now," the colonel explained. "Strange enough, there hasn't been any solid evidence to prove this. Not only does he seem to cover his tracks well, but he's considered a well-respected official of the State Government, so West City troops haven't been called in to investigate.

"That's where you boys come in. I want the two of you to search for any signs of Kent's corruption while you look for those alchemy manuscripts. If you find anything about Kent, report it to me immediately."

Mustang paused, letting his offer sink in for a few moments. "It's like killing two birds with one stone," he added, his smirk widening.

Ed and Al looked at each other, considering the colonel's deal through a silent discussion. "Seems alright to me," Al decided.

"There's just one thing that bothers me," Ed remained unconvinced, raising an eyebrow at his officer. "Why does this Colonel's downfall matter to you so much?"

Mustang's smirk faltered but his expression became unreadable. "That's not for you to know, Fullmetal," he said simply.

Ed barely frowned, noticing a warning edge in the colonel's smooth voice. He hesitated for a few moments before huffing and pushing himself to his feet. "Alright Colonel, we're in," he decided. "What's the name of this town anyway?"

Colonel Mustang's smile spread in satisfaction as he tossed the case file to Ed. "You'll be heading to the military-based town in the West," he replied. "The town of Meridius."

After the spar and the ultimate decision was made, Jamie and Sabrina continued their daily lives in silence, both unsure of how to bring the sudden news to Gabe. The old man had shut himself away in his workshop while the teens were outside, and they both knew all too well the consequences of interrupting Gabe in his work before or after a meal. Despite this, Jamie insisted on telling their mechanic their plans as soon as possible, but Sabrina reminded him that an annoyed Gabe would only make him more unreasonable and reluctant to let them go.

"You know what happened the last time we tried to…" Sabrina began, but drifted off into a tense silence and Jamie understood. The last time they tried to break away during a period of anger between themselves and a parental figure, it had gone to hell.

With an impatient sigh, Jamie agreed, and after cleaning up, Sabrina opened the Automail Market up for the day and took the reins of the store while Jamie headed down the trek from the near base of the mountain to the hustle and bustle of the prosthetic paradise known as Rush Valley to buy train tickets. Under the intense heat of the southern sun, he began to feel his freshly changed hoodie and jeans stick to his body uncomfortably with sweat, but he brushed his displeasure aside. His hidden right arm and the hyena-like mechanics he glanced by as he passed through the shops gave him enough reason to brave the hot weather under heavy layers.

Jamie arrived at the train station after an estimated hour of walking and checked the train schedules for the next day, almost surprised to see no trains heading to Meridius. He asked about this to a clerk selling train tickets behind a booth, and the man informed him that in order to travel to the West, he would have to catch a train to Central first then hop on another train afterwards.

"When does the earliest train to Central leave tomorrow?" Jamie asked.

"At five o'clock in the morning, sir,"

Jamie paid for two tickets to Central and thanked the clerk before heading on his way home.

About halfway home, while passing by a cluster of closely knit automail shops, the heat became too intense for Jamie to handle much longer, and he gave out a short breath as he raised his arm to wipe away the sweat from his brow. His sleeve slipped down a few notches and he suddenly froze, noticing a bit of his right wrist was exposed to the outside environment. He quickly adjusted his sleeve to cover his entire arm completely, hoping to hide the damage before anyone noticed, but as his eyes darted around, he saw a trio of mechanics staring at him greedily from under the shade of an awning. Their hungry gazes hadn't missed the brief glimpse of the bright ray of sunlight glinting off the teen's patch of exposed arm.

"You look parched, son," one mechanic called out, his voice dripping with lust. "Why don't you pop in for a cup of water?"

Jamie ignored the hyena's offer and hurried on his way. Luckily, no one else bothered or came up to him for the rest of his journey home. By the time Jamie arrived back at base, it was nearing lunch time and he met Sabrina at the kitchen table, who had changed into a fresh white tank top and work pants and had her crimson hair tied back in a ponytail.

"No customers so far," the girl greeted as Jamie stepped into the room.

"As usual," the boy replied, setting to his task of sandwich making.

The prepping time was spent in silence as the two teens waited anxiously for Gabe's arrival, plans and arrangements swirling in Jamie's mind as he made lunch. As soon as the last slice of bread had been placed down over a sandwich with heavy meats and extra mayo, Gabe entered the kitchen in his usual cheery manner, bragging about how much food he could pack into a single meal and still have room for more as he pulled up a chair. Remaining silent, Jamie served the old man his lunch, and as the geezer chomped down on his heavy sub, the boy could no longer stand the wait.

"Sabrina and I are leaving Rush Valley tomorrow morning. We're going to Meridius."

As expected, Gabriel was all but agreeable to the plan. He spit what was left of the sandwich in his mouth across the room almost immediately and began to cough violently. "What're you, nuts?!" the old man exclaimed once he recovered. "Traveling to the West? That's a day's journey! And there's no way in hell you're leaving tomorrow! You still got a year left of-"

"You told us our rehabilitation period ended weeks ago," Jamie interrupted impatiently, forcing himself to remain calm. "My arm is working just fine, with no pain at all anymore, and other than her nightmares affecting her, it's the same for Sabrina."

Gabe scowled, his head briefly tilting to Sabrina, who appeared uncomfortable, before turning back to Jamie. "So you forced her into this, eh?" the old man accused. "What, couldn't stand waiting any longer so you go and threaten to leave her-?"

Without warning, Sabrina sprang from her seat so suddenly and violently that her chair fell back with a loud clatter, shocking both males as they whipped around to face the trembling girl. "He didn't force me into anything," she growled through clenched teeth, her hands balled into tight fists. "He told me his plans and gave me the option to go with him. I accepted."

Gabe's lips pressed together in a thin line and the two glared at each other, with Jamie uneasily spectating. The duo had gotten into plenty of spats before, but none made his heart pound in his ears, made his body barely tremble, and made it hard to breathe like this one.

He expected Gabe to disagree. He didn't expect Sabrina to get involved and react so emotionally, and it left him at a loss for words.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Gabe turned away, locking his hands together over the table. "The rehabilitation process for the average man with automail installed is three years," he explained. "There have been rare cases for anyone to recover in a shorter period of time, and there have all been drawbacks and problems to those who rushed. I can't send a patient out into the harsh realities when he's not fully recovered or prepared, much less two stubborn teenagers who don't know half of what the world is like-"

"Don't you dare say we don't know crap!" Sabrina snapped, her voice quivering with rage. "Both of us have seen things no human being should ever see in their entire life! We've experienced and gone through hell and back, something you've probably never done!"

Gabe fell into silence and Jamie was ready to step in and end the argument, but Sabrina continued on. "When you first hooked the nerves in my legs to wires and put me through a painful agony, you told me a story when I was on the verge of sobbing in pain. A few years ago, there was a boy in the East who not only lost his entire family from the Civil War, but also his right arm and left leg. He was only eleven, around my age at the time, but he wanted automail so he could move on with his life. He went through the same process Jamie and I did, but he was able to get through it in a single year just fine and dandy.'

"Sabrina, we're not even sure if that story's true-"Jamie began, but the enraged girl turned on him.

"So what if it's not true?" she shouted. "It showed that nothing is impossible! That boy went through something like us, but he refused to sit back and watch the world go by as a cripple. Instead, he picked himself up and kept moving. Hell, he even recovered faster than we did!"

Sabrina paused, her body visibly shaking and her cheeks burning as she gasped out heavy breaths, her eyes brimming with tears. "If we want to move forward, we have to suffer through the pain that comes along the way. And we did and we still will…" She drifted off, slowly turning to look at Gabe. "And for you to try and hold us back… You don't understand a damn thing-"

Her voice broke off and the girl abruptly turned away, storming out of the kitchen and down the hall. The loud slam of a door was heard before everything fell into a tense silence.

Jamie didn't realize he was holding his breath until he exhaled, low and whispery. He forced his body to relax and chanced a look towards Gabe, expecting the old man to be close to blowing a gasket. Instead, to the boy's surprise, Gabe's stubborn demeanor had vanished and the sight of an elderly man slumped over in his seat with both his hands over his face met Jamie's gaze.

"Gabriel?" the teen asked.

There was no reply and Jamie was nervous that the old man was ignoring him. As he was about to call his name again, Gabe took a deep breath then slowly stood from his seat. "You two want to head to Meridius?" he growled, a lack of effort in his tone. "Fine. Do whatever the hell you want. I ain't your parent, so I can't stop you."

Leaving Jamie in silence, Gabriel stepped from his barely eaten sandwich and headed down the hall, his shoes clacking against the wooden floors. Again, Jamie heard a door open and close, albeit softer than Sabrina's, but a click of a lock was followed, signaling that the man needed absolute privacy.

Jamie felt his body slump from exhaustion and he ran a hand over his tired face, cursing silently to himself. He didn't understand it. He got his mechanic's permission to leave and his train tickets were ordered and safe in his pocket. Everything was set and prepared, and by tomorrow morning, he and his closest friend would be heading to Meridius. To his hometown. It was like a dream come true for the boy.

So why did he feel so horrible and guilty?

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><p><strong>AN: AWWW YEAH, A CHAPTER POSTED EARLIER THAN I PLANNED. WEWT**

**For starters, Happy late Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday with your loved ones. And for those of you who don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you still had a good day :D**

**Secondly, theres the issue with school. Other than a few art projects to finish up, some drafts of an essay to finish, and a couple of finals to take, I'm pretty much done with my Fall semester in college. And then it's 3 weeks off for Christmas break, which will give me plenty of time to work on this story! ^^ I'm really enjoying it so far, even if I took a break from it, and I'm really happy that I finally got to introduce Ed, Al, and Mustang into this. I'll probably continue to update this story every two weeks unless something pops up, so expect the next chapter up around December 13th. Until then, reviews would help a ton! And thanks to The QAS and M for reviewing!*triple thumbs up* **

**On that note, here's a lil short I whipped up. Enjoy! **

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><p><strong>OMAKE<strong>

About halfway home, while passing by a cluster of closely knit automail shops, the heat became too intense for Jamie to handle much longer.

"Fuck it, I don't even care anymore," he decided, grabbing his clothes and throwing off his hoodie and shirt. Immediately, relief washed over him as the weather became less stifling to deal with and he sighed, stretching out his muscled left arm and barely noticeable six pack. "Much better," he said.

Suddenly he heard a few cat calls from his side and he whipped around, noticing a trio of mechanics under an awning with hearts in their eyes.

"C'mere big boy and lemme give ya some sugar~" an elderly man swooned.

"...oh dear God why?" Jamie groaned.


	4. The Night Before

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist and no money is being made off of this fanfiction. All rights belong to Himoru Arakawa, and I heavily suggest that you go enjoy the series she's created. Even the ones that aren't FMA. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>Sabrina and Gabe never came out of their rooms throughout the rest of the day. Despite feeling at fault, Jamie contented himself by stepping out to look after the Market and sorting through the few automail products up for sale. By mid-afternoon, no customers showed up, and he closed shop early, his impatience beginning to get to him. He decided to pack up his little belongings to get his mind off of current matters and headed off to his and Sabrina's shared room, stepping by the closed door to Gabe's workshop without a glance.<p>

A knock to show his presence received no response, and finding the door unlocked, Jamie quietly pushed it open and peeked inside. He found the room almost pitch-black, dense curtains shut and blocking out the sinking sun from the window, but there was enough light to make out the form of a girl huddled in her bed, a heavy quilt pulled up over her entire body to shelter her from the rest of the world. Whether she was awake or asleep, Jamie didn't know, but he chose to leave the girl to her privacy and crept to his own bed. Getting down on his hands and knees and peering through the darkness, the boy reached under the bed and pulled out his luggage bag, clicking it open and rifling through its contents.

A spare change of clothes, a toothbrush, a handheld map of Amestris, and extra cens for emergencies. It was all he felt he needed for traveling, and it had lasted him well enough.

By dinnertime, Jamie found himself eating alone, the house completely quiet save for the occasional creak of the building. Afterwards, he decided to check his automail. If he was traveling across the country, he needed to make sure his prosthetic was finely tuned and in top form. He picked up a can of oil, a rag, and a few tools from the shop and stepped out into the cooling dusk.

The sun had disappeared behind the canyons, leaving in place a darkening sky filled with never-ending stars, the moon a glowing crescent amongst them. Jamie found himself relishing in the calm serenity of his environment compared to the earlier chaos, and he sat down on the edge of the porch and put down his equipment. Carefully, he slipped his sapphire ring from his hand and set it to his side, pulling off his gloves with ease and his hoodie following suit. With only a t-shirt to cover his upper body, the boy set to work on examining his right arm.

Titanium shown in the moonlight, making his automail arm glow a pale blue and reflect against his dark surroundings. Jamie slowly curled his fingers in and out, clenched his hand into a fist over and over, and bent his arm repeatedly, testing his joints. Even after two years, he still wasn't used to seeing a mechanical creation replace his arm of flesh and blood. He didn't think he ever would be.

After checking and noting that his joints and movements were in top condition, Jamie moved on to the polishing stage, having already cleansed his arm of dirt and grim when he took his shower after the morning spar. He dipped the rag into the can of oil and set to work on buffing his automail, rolling his sleeve up to start from the port that connected his arm to his fleshy shoulder. As he polished down his limb, his eyes drifted to where his healing scar that extended from the port and shoulder to the right side of his chest was hidden behind cloth. The scar, he remembered, was acquired while he was enduring automail surgery, when Gabe had to tear open and dig deeper into his skin in order to fit the port into his socket.

_Gotta hand it to whatever took yer arm, _Jamie barely recalled the old man's bitter humor through his pain filled memories, remembering how he could barely hear the mechanic over his own agonizing sobs. _Did a fine clean cut._

The thing that took his arm…

No. It wasn't the time to be thinking about that thing. Jamie shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused intently on his polishing, yet a sense of unease refused to leave him. He sat in silence for a few minutes until the impending creak of the floorboards in the house broke him out of his thoughts. The boy paused in his work, setting the rag down as the footsteps drew closer, right until they were at the doorway.

"Should've done yer buffin' farther out, kid," a gruff voice said. "I could smell the oil from my room."

Jamie stared hard at the ground, ignoring Gabe's remark and focusing on his automail once again. He felt the old man's presence draw closer until he seated himself right next to the teenager. Out of the corner of his eye, Jamie noticed that the mechanic had a lit cigarette between his lips, making the boy briefly scowl in disapproval. He wasn't sure if Gabe noticed, but the old man drew in a long breath before blowing the smoke out in a veiled cloud, as if he was aiming to annoy Jamie.

"Beautiful night, eh?" Gabe asked, his head tilted up towards the sky. "A cool evening after a humid day and sitting out under a blanket of stars. Sure don't get better than this, 'specially in the southern parts."

Jamie gritted his teeth behind his lips. Now he was sure Gabe was poking and prodding at him, trying to get him to snap and say something, trying to draw him into a conversation, trying to convince him to stay. He didn't care to admit it, but the old man was close to bringing him to his breaking point, his patience already worn thin from the earlier morning. Especially since Gabe was blowing out another breath of smoke and tendrils were drifting into Jamie's face.

"In fact," Gabe continued after he finished drawing out his breath, "This brings me back to that one night, 'bout a year and a half ago, when you were tryin' to sneak out to-"

"I know what you're trying to pull Gabe," Jamie interrupted, his eyes staring at his arm. "It's not going to work. I've had my mind set on returning home for a long time. Sabrina and I are leaving tomorrow morning and there's nothing you can say to make me rethink my decision."

Jamie could feel Gabe's head turn onto him, but he didn't expect a snort to follow. "You're still uptight about that?" the old man asked. "Hell, I ain't gonna stop you. I figured you can take care of yerself just fine."

Unable to stop himself, Jamie turned to look at Gabe in confusion, his eyes narrowing. "So why did you come out here if you didn't want to stop me?" he demanded. "It can't have been just to have idle chit-chat."

Gabe chuckled with a smirk and shrugged. "Ya got me there, boy," he admitted. "I ain't one to bring up a conversation 'less there's a good reason behind it."

Jamie waited for the old man's answer, but he noticed he was hesitating. Gabe dragged out his smoke before releasing it into the air once again before asking in a heavy voice, "Why d'you wanna get Sabrina involved in yer goals all of a sudden?"

Jamie felt taken aback by the sudden question, but he found himself recovering quickly, his frown deepening. He could practically see the trap Gabe was trying to lure him into. He'd known the old man long enough to figure out that he was sly and crafty with his words and could easily trap someone in his clutches with a single sentence. Still, the boy didn't see any sense to avoid it or drag it out any further. He decided to play along and see where Gabe would try to lead him to.

"Because she's my partner and she chose to come with," he simply replied.

Gabe snorted again and Jamie could tell he was rolling his eyes behind his shades. "Right. Like you gave her much of a choice to begin with," the old man said, flicking the ashes from his half burnt cigarette.

Jamie scowled. Again with the taunts. He remained silent, knowing that whatever he chose to say would only worsen his case. Unfortunately, Gabe took it as a sign of hesitation and continued.

"Don't lie to me, kid. You told her she had to go with you tomorrow mornin' or you'd leave her behind, whether she was ready and willin' or not, didn't you?"

Jamie remembered his words from the spar clear as day. _Tomorrow morning. With or without you._

He remained silent.

Gabe grunted and whistled out smoke through gritted teeth. "Brings me back to what I was originally sayin'," he went on. "A night like this reminds me of one that was almost exactly like this 'bout a year and a half ago. I remember 'cause I was standing out on this porch, having a smoke break before bed. I needed that smoke too, 'cause I had just finished givin' Sabrina her painkillers fer the night. It was during the worst parts of her rehabilitation, and I remember almost every night she couldn't fall asleep without somethin' to ease the pain. Couldn't blame her. Heard its hell ter try and learn how to walk again after bein' handicapped.

"Anyway, I remember happenin' to glance up towards the upper floors of the shop and seein' yer light on. And I thought to myself, 'Now what in the world is that boy doin' up so late? Don't tell me the pain's botherin' him too.' So with my career instincts kickin' in, I put out my cigarette and headed back inside to investigate. But when I got to yer doorway and I pushed open that door, you know what I saw?"

No reply. Gabe didn't wait long for an answer.

"When I walked into yer room, I saw you standin' fully dressed in traveling clothes, leanin' over a luggage bag and crammin' crap in there like the military was comin' fer ya. And I said, 'Boy, just whattya think yer doin'?' And you jumped and spun around to face me and I immediately noticed the purple rings under yer eyes. You hadn't gotten a wink of sleep in ages.

"You didn't respond, so I repeated myself." Gabe paused before turning to Jamie, his voice falling to a low and dangerous tone. "You remember that whole conversation, don'tcha?"

Again, no reply.

"Well, you started out by tellin' me you was leavin'. At first I didn't believe a word you said and I laughed. I told ya, 'Don't be an idiot, you can't go anywhere after only six months of recovery.' But you went on, sayin' on how you was all prepared to head off to this hometown of yers. And I could tell by the look in yer eyes and the way you talked that you were dead serious.

"'Course that just made me get confused and frustrated. I asked you what you would do with yer arm and you said you would figure it out later on. Then I knew you were bein' stupid. Even with a glance, I could see yer arm was so stiff and jerky, you could barely move any of yer joints without grimacing. So then I brought up Sabrina. I said, 'What about yer friend? She ain't in no condition to travel anywhere, not on them legs of hers.'"

Gabe clenched his hands into fists and Jamie could hear the venom in his voice. "I still can't believe you had the decency to say you were prepared to leave her behind and run away without so much as a goodbye," he growled. "'Specially after all the stories she used to tell me about the two of you when you was kids…"

Gabe drifted off, his body relaxing and the cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. Silence filled the atmosphere as minutes passed and ashes fell and drifted to the ground, until the cigarette was burned down to its last limbs. Jamie remained quiet, his body hunched over as he kept his gaze to the sand at his feet. He felt unnerved at Gabe's lacking rant, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to speak. After several moments, he finally heard Gabe sigh heavily and shift beside him. "Jamie… Look at me," came the deep and raspy voice of an old man.

Jamie felt himself tense up in surprise and, despite himself, he felt his head lift up a few inches. Gabe hadn't called him by his actual name, at least not to his face, since he had tried to run away a year and a half ago. It had always been "boy" or "kid", and anything otherwise would be considered strange and unwarranted from the mechanic. It was a sign that something grave was happening and all orders had to be obeyed. He learned that from his own father and even his guardian taught him the rule years ago.

Slowly, the teen looked up and met Gabe's gaze. In fact, it was his eyes that shocked him. For the first time since the old man had crossed his path, Jamie had never seen the mechanic without his trademark shades covering his eyes. Until that moment, Jamie never knew that Gabriel's eyes were red with power, intense emotion, and bloodshed from a dead race.

"You're…" Jamie always had passing thoughts of the old man's race, but he never considered them to be true. Even now, he could barely finish his statement, and his words died on whispering lips and were lost in the silence. He regretted breaking his silent vigil immediately afterwards, but the man before him had shocked him out of rational mind.

Gabe seemed to pay no attention to Jamie's astonishment as his scowl deepened, his blood-red eyes flashing in brief anger. "I never did tell you why I lost my temper that night, why I screamed and cursed and threatened you," he said, his voice low. "But yer words disgusted me and angered me beyond control… Because they reminded me of myself.

"I'm gonna tell you a story, son. But I don't want you sayin' a word of this to another soul, ya got me?"

Jamie didn't respond. He didn't even look away. Gabe wouldn't let him break eye contact, keeping hold of him with his fierce gaze. Even when the old man took his cigarette out of his mouth and flicked the remains away, he didn't so much as glance away.

"This might be hard to believe, but at one point in life I was the same age as you are now," Gabe began. "In fact, ever since my old man lost the use of his legs at an early age and I met a traveler with automail limbs that was driftin' through my land, I always wanted to craft such a tool that would help people carry on in life with a lack of amputations to hold 'em back. As you probably figured though, my people were against such creations that went against our God's will. To them, automail and even alchemy were sins and signs of a man's arrogance to recreate what Ishvala gave us in our own image.

"I did my best to settle down by marryin' and startin' a family, but even with a lovin' wife and a few kids, my callin' grew stronger through each passin' day until I couldn't cope with it any longer. So I left without a word. I knew my family could support themselves and I didn't want to crush their hearts by tellin' them my plans, but even to this day, I feel horrible for not sayin' goodbye. I told myself I would return and formally apologize once I learned how to make automail and started my own business."

The old man chuckled, his laugh dry and humorless. "You've probably figured this out by now, but I never got the chance to see my family again. Nor will I ever…"

He fell silent for a few moments before letting out a heavy breath, finally tearing his eyes away from Jamie and slipping his shades back on. Once those blood red eyes were hidden, Jamie felt some of his tension drain away, but part of him forced his body to remain rigid. Meanwhile, Gabe had tilted his head back and was observing the stars in the night sky. Or perhaps he was looking beyond them.

"I ain't sure if your skull's thick enough to not notice that Sabrina cares deeply for you," Gabe continued. "That girl cares about you as much as if you were her older brother. Heard the words from her mouth myself even, tellin' me how you've been with her since she was growin' out of diapers and how you're practically a part of her family. To her, you're the only thing she has left."

At this point, Jamie had lowered his gaze back to the ground, pulling his knees up to his chest and resting crossed arms on his kneecaps, his chin digging into his fleshy arm. He heard Gabe give out a few harsh coughs beside him and the mechanic spoke again, his voice hoarse.

"I don't exactly know what the two of you went through that sent you to my doorstep in the first place. Nor do I really wanna know. People have their secrets. But there were times when I would check on Sabrina in the dead of night and I'd hear her talkin' to herself. Sometimes she was sleepin', sometimes she was half awake, hell a few times I caught her when she was sittin' upright in bed and starin' at the wall. Each time I heard her mumblin' somethin' 'bout how it was her fault, she caused somethin', you didn't deserve her, or some kind of pain. And it made me wonder what she's done for you."

Jamie was silent. He knew what was coming.

"Clearly she'd done a lot, even I can tell that much. And in some mindset, ditchin' her and runnin' back home was your way of repayin' her back then."

And there it was. The elderly man's words stung, but the pain quickly faded. Like a pinch to the boy, it was gone as quickly as it had come.

"Don't get me wrong," Gabe said. "I'm glad you decided to listen to my advice and stick around fer a while longer. And I'm happy you've decided to take Sabrina with you instead of being low and leavin' her in the dust. But you're not the nicest guy on the planet either, especially to her. In fact, I wouldn't have let her go with you if she wasn't so damn attached."

With a grunt, Gabe pushed himself to his feet and stretched out his joints. Jamie made no move to join the mechanic, and for a few minutes he could feel the crimson eyes behind shaded glasses staring at him, as if trying to read his mind. Then the man slowly turned and left behind only whispered words before stepping inside the house and closing the door behind him, leaving Jamie once again alone in the silent night.

The boy remained still, his face hidden behind shadowed bangs as time slowly passed him by. A cool breeze swept in, signaling the start of a summer fading into autumn, but he was sinking too deep in his thoughts to notice the chill that swept through his body.

He ran the old man's departing words over and over again in his mind.

_Consider yerself lucky that you have a family who would die for you and a home to return to._

He didn't move for the rest of the night.

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><p><strong>AN: Woah, another chapter on time! Just in time for Christmas! Clearly this is a big accomplishment for me since I usually have a bad habit of missing deadlines. But whatchu guys think of Jamie's inner turmoil and Gabe's backstory? Things are getting intense and hopefully the story will be moving along to the bigger plot soon, especially since finals are coming to a close for me and I'll have time to write more! WEWT**

**Before this chapter ends, I would like to deeply thank The QAS for being a faithful reader and reviewing every chapter I've put up. Seriously, even if its just been four so far, it means a lot to me. You rock dude!**

**Anyhoozies, see ya on the next update. sharia013 signing off~**


	5. On the Road

**A/N: Wow. This chapter is two days late. I'm posting this late at night, so technically three. I'm sorry for my lateness, but with the holidays coming up along with plans to spend time with friends and family, I couldn't find the time to type this chapter up on schedule. Hopefully I'll make it up with this extra long chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Fullmetal Alchemist, nor am I making any profit off of this story. These rights belong to, as usual, Himoru Arakawa. Enjoy~!**

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><p>Sabrina looked up from her notebook to her friend sitting across from her for the umpteenth time, a sense of unease growing and knawing restlessly inside of her gut. For the whole travel, Jamie hadn't given a single glance to her since he had taken his seat, nor had he even gazed over in her general direction. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed to the train window, his elbow popped up on the ledge as he stared at the passing scenery of endless golden fields under a partly cloudy sky. The landscape was beautiful, Sabrina had to admit, but she knew Jamie had other thoughts crowding his mind. She was sure she knew what.<p>

The restlessness in her stomach grew as Sabrina's thoughts drifted to the night before, specifically Jamie and Gabriel's conversation. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop on their private talk, but when she was heading downstairs to apologize to Gabe after her breakdown and accidental nap, she heard the old man mention her a few times as she passed by. Curious, she hid by the doorway to listen, but the rest took her off guard and left her stunned and helpless. She had hurried back upstairs before Gabe finished, but she still wasn't sure if the two had known she was there, hearing every word they uttered.

Even so, Sabrina still couldn't believe what she had heard. For one, there was the fact that Gabe was an Ishvalan. Before, she had very few stray thoughts of the old man being a survivor of the Civil War, but she always considered it impossible. Very little natives had survived during the extermination campaign, or at least that was what she remembered reading from the newspapers back then. However, what she heard Gabe mention about him made sense to her, from how his love for mechanics forced him to run away from his people and family many years before the war started, to how she had heard Jamie gasp during a lapsed pause, and a quick peek around the doorway gave her a flash of blood red eyes. Her heart sank in guilt as she recalled her and Gabe's argument and the last words she had spat out in bitter tears. She couldn't believe she had the audacity to accuse him of living a peaceful life when in reality it was much more worse than she had ever imagined. She had wanted to apologize as soon as she could, but Jamie had woken her before dawn so they could catch their train, and they had left Rush Valley without a word to her former mechanic.

Then there was Jamie. The words he said and the story Gabe repeated, about how he was planning to leave his remaining family behind with no regret, had made her heart drop down to the pit of her gut, and she remembered how she had to grip the wall to keep her legs from collapsing. It was like a dull knife had stabbed her in the chest, the blade dragging through her skin, and it left behind a broken and empty feeling inside her core. She barely remembered dragging herself away from Gabe's finishing words back into her room, where she had curled up in a ball underneath the cover of her blankets and stared blankly at the fabric, a mix of emotions flooding through her but none being able to break through. Her mind was swirling and tumbling around for the whole night, keeping her from falling asleep and leaving her in a suffocating, lonely silence until she felt Jamie's hand shaking her and his voice calling for her to wake up. It had taken a while for her to fully register his words, for they sounded muffled to her ears and his touch was numb against her, as if she was drifting underwater.

For the whole night and the walk to the train station, Sabrina had only felt lost and broken. Her best friend, whom she considered as close to her as a brother, was willing to cast her aside and run off for his own ambitions while she had been stuck in a hospital bed with no legs to run after him. A sense of depression she hadn't felt in years was catching up to her, plaguing her mind with insecurities and uncertainty. She had believed every word her own thoughts threw at her, and while her body had followed her betrayer up to when she took her seat on the designated train, her soul was screaming in agony. Exhaustion from a sleepless night only fueled her self-hatred, and despite the hard and uncomfortable seats and the rocky start of the train taking off, her fatigue became too much for her to handle and she drifted into an uneasy, dreamless sleep up until Jamie was shaking her awake once again as the train had pulled into Central Station.

The train went over a large bump in the tracks and Sabrina was jostled out of her thoughts, blinking a few times as she regained focus to the present. She realized she was staring at Jamie, who hadn't seemed to take notice at all, and she turned back to her notebook, frowning slightly. Despite her earlier depressive musings, the girl now felt anger replacing her unease. _No, _she reminded herself. _It's not my fault for Jamie to turn tail and flee. He's responsible for his own actions. There's nothing I could have done in that situation._

A voice in the back of her mind whispered doubts, but she shoved it away before it could overcome her again. Since she had boarded the train to Meridius, Sabrina had decided that somehow, when they reached Jamie's hometown, she was going to prove to her supposed friend that she wasn't just some worthless toy that could be tossed aside. Until the time came, she pushed herself to look inside her own goals, something she had wanted to catch up on for a long time. Motivated, Sabrina studied over the page she had left off in her notebook.

The Philosopher's Stone. Bolded and underlined twice at the top of the page, those three words were the first things Sabrina's gaze caught onto. Under the name was a rough sketch of a stone she had drawn years ago as a visual representation, and several names and notes were scattered across the page, describing the stone in a basic format.

-Elixer of Life  
>-Crimson Stone<br>-Bypass equivalent exchange  
>-Resurrect the dead<br>-Fantasy?  
>-Ingredients unknown<p>

Sabrina frowned at her last note. Ingredients unknown. It left her in a momentary puzzled state. What would you use to make a Stone that could bypass any and all solid laws of alchemy? Surely such things didn't exist. Still, the Stone itself was said to be a fable in almost every alchemy book she had looked through in her entire life. Even so, if there was the slightest chance that it was possible to recreate-

A roar of laughter bellowed around the train car, interrupting Sabrina's own train of thought. Annoyed, the girl glanced up from her notes and searched for the source of the rude disturbance, growling obscenities under her breath. A quick look around led her to a trio of young men dressed in trainee military uniforms seated a few rows away from her, practically shouting humorously at each other. One of the men quickly caught her gaze and stopped, making the others pause and follow his stare. The first guy, presumably the leader, sneered and winked at her, and his two companions followed by taunting and flirting with her across the seats.

Sabrina felt her eye twitch irritably and she quickly looked away, ignoring the boys' obnoxious behavior and glancing around for any response from the other passengers. No one paid any heed to the trio, although she caught a few shifting in their seats and looking away from the scenario. Strangely enough, almost all of the passengers were soldiers, whether they wore standard uniforms with numerous badges pinned onto their chest and shoulders, or more commonly seen new recruits, their eyes shining and hopeful. Because of the large number of military boarding the train, Sabrina hadn't paid attention to any of them.

That is, except for two very strange individuals.

Even from several seats away, Sabrina could spot the tall head of one of them, and she felt herself smirk. She remembered almost laughing at how the passengers stared as the unusual duo first boarded the train and headed towards their seats, passing by her while staring straight ahead. Even when they sat down and the train began to pull out of Central Station, numerous amounts of people had turned in their seats to get a better look at the two, with suspicious stares or wide eyes that were ready to pop out of their sockets.

Sabrina couldn't blame the people for looking. After all, it wasn't every day you saw someone walking around in a full suit of armor.

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><p>"Brother, shouldn't you be reading through the file by now?"<p>

"Hm?" Ed yawned and rolled to his side to face Al. The elder brother had been trying to catch a few extra hours of sleep, but a large bump the train went over had jostled him out of his nap. For several moments he remained lying on his side, staring at the bench backboard until he heard Al speak up. Al almost laughed at how disoriented his brother looked.

"I said," Al repeated himself, "Shouldn't you be looking through the case file Colonel Mustang gave you? I mean, he went through the effort of collecting all the information about this town for us."

Ed made a face and shrugged. "So what? All the stuff we need to know he told us before we left," he replied.

Al shifted uncomfortably and Ed paused before sighing. "Look Al, if you wanna look through it, that's fine by me," he compromised. "I'm just gonna catch a few more z's before we pull in, 'kay?"

Without waiting for an answer, Ed rolled onto his back and stretched his legs across the bench, closing his eyes before going still. Al stared at his brother in disbelief before shaking his head. _Sometimes I feel like I'm the older one,_ he thought as he picked up the case file from under Ed's bench, where the blonde had tossed it before taking his first nap.

Al opened the file and was met with dozens upon dozens of files regarding Meridius. He read through all the different papers, scanning through each sheet with interest. Most of it was government related and he almost felt bad for searching through them when he himself wasn't even a member of the military, but it was the more personal information that he regarded fondly. He learned details about the old owner of the town, General Matthew Meridius, who seemed to have gathered plenty of respect in his time. Alphonse learned about the connection between the Meridius line and the town itself, about how since its founding, the head of the family from each generation of Meridius' would be given the rights and deeds to the town when they came of age.

Al chuckled softly as he read about the different heritage lines, reminded of Armstrong and his own traits passed down from his family for generations. He continued on about General Meridius, reading through documentations and newspaper clippings of his heroic deeds and contributions to society, inside and outside of the battlefield. However, his own town came before his government responsibilities, and he retired to live the rest of his life as the owner of Meridius shortly after getting married and having a son.

As Al turned a page, a photograph slipped out from between the sheets of paper and fluttered onto his loincloth. Curious, the boy set aside the file and gently picked up the photo, looking it over. While the color was fading from age, there was still enough to show three people in the picture with striking details. The scene showed an elegant woman sitting in a regal chair with a toddler in her arms as a man stood tall and proud with a hand on the woman's shoulder. Al could only guess the man to be General Meridius, since his military uniform bore many stars and medals and his appearance matched physical descriptions mentioned in the previous reports.

_That must mean the others are his wife and son, _Al thought to himself, examining the woman and child tenderly. If he had lips, the armored boy would've smiled at how well the toddler in the picture took after his parents. While the child had locks of dark brown hair that matched his mother's, he took after his father's vibrant blue eyes.

It warmed Al's heart to see a happy family picture. However, his joy plummeted as he resumed where he left off through the files and came to a death report. The suit of armor's gasp went unheard; his body tensing as he frantically scanned through the details of General Meridius and his wife's deaths.

"No…" Alphonse whispered.

Ed peeked open an eye at hearing his brother, but he immediately tensed and sat up as he noticed the suit of armor shaking. "What's up Al?" he asked.

With a heavy heart and a solemn voice, Al recalled the reports he read to his older brother as best as he could, with Ed listening intently. As the armored boy covered the tragic details of the deaths, the blonde grimaced and crossed his arms.

"How terrible," he muttered.

Al nodded. "But Brother," he suddenly realized, "There wasn't anything describing what happened to the little boy."

Ed stiffened and Al felt his shoulders sag, already expecting what his older brother was going to say. "I dunno, Al. There's not a very big change that he could've survived, especially if his whereabouts are currently unknown," Ed said.

Al gazed back to the family picture, staring sorrowfully at the little boy's image. "I guess so, Brother," he mumbled. "I just find it sad that such a happy looking family is gone. I doubt they deserved what befell them."

Ed remained silent, turning to look outside at the passing scenery. Dark clouds were beginning to gather over the speeding train, matching the brothers' glum moods as they sat across from each other. The hushed moment lasted until Ed spoke up.

"If that kid _is _alive, I hope he's okay. Wherever he is-"

"What part of _no _don't you idiots understand?!"

Ed and Al perked up at the sound of a sudden, shrill voice, with Al turning around in his seat to investigate and Ed peering over his brother's shoulder. A trio of cadets was upright and gathered around a pair of teenagers sitting several seats away from the brothers. The young military men appeared to be sneering at a girl with bright red hair and a very annoyed expression. Another person sat across from her, but Al could only spot the back of their short, dark brown hair.

"Aw, c'mon sweetheart," one of the cadets sneered. "We just want to know the name that goes with your pretty face."

The girl's scowl deepened. "My name is none of your business," she stated, her voice cold and bitter. "Just leave us alone already."

"How rude. We just want to chat," another trainee snickered.

Al took a quick glance around at the other passengers, who were watching the situation as well or didn't seem to be paying any attention. He felt himself stifle in frustration. Why wasn't anyone helping the girl or stepping in to stop the men altogether?

"Brother, shouldn't we do something?" the armored boy asked.

Before Ed could reply, a harsh laugh came from the third cadet. "Besides, it's not very easy to ignore someone like you on a train," he sniggered. "I mean, look at your obnoxious hair! What, are you wearing some kind of wig?"

The cadet reached out to tug at the girl's hair, but a gloved hand slapped him away and in an instant, the dark haired teenager was leaning forward in his seat and blocking the girl from Al's sight. The armored boy stiffened as the cadets gave out startled yells. "Hey! What's your problem, punk?" one of the young men snapped.

"Brother," Al shortly said.

"Right." Ed left no room for argument. If the situation continued any further, violence could break out, and in the midst of a crowded train, innocent bystanders would have a greater chance of getting injured. Without further delay, the brothers leaped from their seats and hurried down the train car.

"Excuse me," Al politely spoke up as they approached the tense group.

The girl's eyes flickered to the brothers at the sound of Al's voice, but her partner and the cadets ignored them, glaring at each other in hostility. Up close, Al noticed that the other hassled teen was a boy, appearing to be in his late teens, with dark brown bangs falling short over steel blue eyes. He was midway from his seat, leaning towards the girl and facing so the cadets' attention was focused on him, while the girl matched his posture as she glanced away from the brothers with her scowl deepening.

"You really shouldn't have done that, kid," one of the cadets growled. "Who do you think you're dealing with anyway-?"

"Hey! We're talking to you, pal!" Ed snapped, visibly annoyed at being ignored.

The boys finally turned to the brothers, irritation in their features, albeit more-so in the cadets.

"The hell do you want, brat?" a cadet demanded. "We're kinda busy here with some serious business."

"Looks more like harassment to me," Ed replied. "Why don't you guys just head back to your seats and leave these people alone?"

"Oooooh, looks like the kid's trying to be brave," another cadet sneered. "Listen squirt, why don't you take your walking garbage can back to your mommy and let the grownups handle this situation?"

"Garbage can…" Al softly repeated, affronted.

A vein popped in Ed's forehead and the blonde snapped. "Don't talk to me like I'm some child, dammit!" he shouted. "I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, for God's sake!"

The military men blinked down at Ed as he fumed before bursting out into fits of laughter. "As if! Like a little runt like you is a member of the State," the supposed leader bellowed.

Al could see the bomb go off inside his brother's head, and he managed to hold Ed back just as he attempted to murderously lunge at the trainees. "WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO TINY HE COULD FIT INSIDE OF AN ATOM?!" he roared. "I'LL KICK YOUR KNEECAPS IN AND THEN WE'LL SEE WHO THE SHORT ONE IS!"

"Brother, please, we shouldn't be violent on a train!" Al exclaimed, exasperated at his brother's behavior.

Ed ceased cussing out the men, but he shoved his hand into his pants pocket and dug around, his teeth grinding tightly and his face cherry red with rage. The blonde whipped out a silver pocket watch with the Amestrian symbol engraved onto it and threw it in the cadets' faces.

"THERE! SEE? PROOF!" he snarled.

The young men leaned forward to look, snickering under their breaths, before jumping back with stupefied faces.

"No way! That little runt is a State Alchemist?!" one of the cadets gasped.

"He must really be the Fullmetal Alchemist!" another exclaimed in shock. "Y'know, the youngest kid in the military!"

Ed, while ready to blow up at the offhand comment towards his height, slowly simmered down as his pride and ego inflated, yet he remained fierce and undaunting. "That's right," he replied. "If you bozos need any more proof, I don't have a problem showing you some."

Much to Ed's satisfaction and Al's relief, the cadets backed away nervously with their hands raised up in surrender. "We're fine, Mr. Alchemist," the leader said. "We'll just head back to our seats, alright?"

With that, the men turned and headed back to their benches a few rows away, with Ed's glare and several of the passenger's curious and anxious stares following them. "Good riddance," the alchemist muttered, shoving his watch back into his pocket.

Meanwhile, Al's attention was focused on the two teens, who visibly relaxed once the military men had left. "Are you two okay?" he asked, concerned.

The boy nodded before turning away and looking out the window as if nothing occurred. The girl threw her companion an exasperated glance before turning to look to the armored boy and flashing him a grateful smile. "I think we'll be alright now. Thanks for your help," she answered.

"You're welcome," Al responded cheerfully.

The girl held onto her smile, her olive eyes bright as she turned to look at the other brother. "So you're really a State Alchemist?" she asked in awe.

Ed turned, realizing that the girl was acknowledging him, and gave her a boastful grin. "Yep! Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, in the flesh," he introduced.

"Nice to meet you," the girl replied, holding out a hand. "Name's Sabrina Arora. We really appreciate the help you guys gave us."

"I'm just glad those creeps are out of your hair." Ed met Sabrina's right hand and the two shook before he nodded to the girl's partner. "Care to introduce him?"

The boy's eyes remained at the passing landscape, but he mumbled something incoherently, making Ed leaned towards him in confusion.

"Come again?" the blonde asked.

The strange boy made no move to repeat himself, however Sabrina quickly leaned forward in her seat, switching Ed's attention onto her. "Oh! He's just my bro- …Erm…"

She seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing. "He's my comrade."

Ed raised an eyebrow at the girl's pause, but before he could press forward, Sabrina shifted her attention towards Al. "What about you?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself earlier," Al apologized, giving her a small bow. "I'm Alphonse, Ed's younger brother."

Sabrina's eyes widened in wonder. "You're kidding me. Younger brother?" she repeated incredulously. "You're like a giant!"

Al chuckled as he felt his brother twitch beside him. "Yeah, I get that a bit," he said, glancing down towards the elder brother. "I think it's because I managed to drink all of my milk as a kid."

"What was that?!" Ed demanded, making Al laugh.

"Huh…" Sabrina paused, momentarily confused by the brothers' inside joke before she broke out into a wide grin, lightly punching the side of Al's arm. "Even if you're the younger one, that's still a cool suit of armor you're wearing!"

Al laughed again, albeit more awkwardly and nervously than before, and unconsciously rubbed the back of his helmet. He certainly wasn't expecting a comment like that. "Er… Thank you-"

A high whistle broke Al's words and he noticed the train was slowing down as it pulled into a station. They had arrived in Meridius.

Without warning, the dark haired boy sprang out of his seat and grabbed a luggage bag underneath, pushing past the brothers and dashing down the car before the train had even come to a complete stop.

"Hey Jamie! Wait up!" Sabrina called out in surprise. No reply came and the red head sighed before grabbing a rucksack from under her bench, leaping to her feet and following after her companion.

"Thanks again! See you later!" she called over her shoulder.

Al watched as the young girl slipped off the train before noticing the passengers around them getting up and grabbing their own bags, and he looked down at his brother. "We should head back to our seats, Brother," he said. "We're starting to get in the way."

Ed made no move to head back and he lowered his head, his eyes narrowed in distraught. "Brother? What is it?" Al asked, off guard at his brother's unexpected change in behavior.

Ed frowned, resting a finger on his chin thoughtfully. "That girl. D'you think she…" He trailed off before shaking his head. "Never mind. Let's grab our bags," he finished, turning away.

Al heisitated as his brother walked back to their original seats before following after him. To the armored boy, the redhead was nothing more than a cheerful girl, although her partner seemed to be the more suspicious one. However, something about Sabrina had ticked his brother off, and he wasn't sure what.

Whatever it was, Alphonse doubted it was anything good.

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><p><strong>AN: And another chapter come and gone! Our heroes meet the Elrics under sudden circumstances before heading down their own roads once again. Will their paths merge once more? Probably. Will hi-jinks, drama, and hilarity ensue? Definitely! **

**But really, this chapter was so much fun to write. I love seeing things through Ed and Al's perspective, but I hope I got their personalities right. And like I said earlier, this chapter was late due to holidays popping up (Happy Holidays by the way!) but I'm for sure going to post the next chapter on time. Which will be, as usual, in the next two weeks, right around the time my winter break ends. Wooo.**

**As always, thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter! And please continue to read and review so I know what I'm doing right and what I need to work on to make this story better for you guys.**

**Until next time though, sharia013 signing off~**


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